I Love You to Death
| runtime = 97 minutes | country = United States | language = English Italian Serbo-Croatian | budget = | gross = $16.2 million }} I Love You to Death is a 1990 American black comedy film directed by Lawrence Kasdan & written by John Kostmayer (which was his first & only movie script that he wrote for a feature film). The film stars Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, Joan Plowright, River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves and William Hurt. The film is loosely based on a real-life attempted murder in 1983 in Allentown, Pennsylvania when a woman named Frances Toto attempted to kill her husband, Anthony and was sentenced to four years in prison for attempted murder. It was also Tracey Ullman's debut American and Hollywood feature film as the leading role. Plot Joey Boca (Kevin Kline) is the owner of a pizza parlor located in Tacoma, Washington, and has been married to Rosalie (Tracey Ullman) for years. Their marriage seems a typical one until Rosalie discovers in the public library that Joey is a womanizer and has been cheating on her for a long time. Rosalie does not want to allow Joey the pleasure of having every woman he wants, so she refuses divorce. Taking extreme measures, she enlists the help of her mother (Joan Plowright), and her young co-worker Devo (River Phoenix), who's secretly in love with her, to kill Joey in order to put an end to his infidelity. They also hire two incompetent, perpetually stoned hit-men, cousins Harlan and Marlon James (William Hurt and Keanu Reeves). To her surprise, Joey proves impossible to kill. Even though Rosalie poisons Joey with sleeping pills, he simply gets a stomach cramp, and dismisses it as a virus. When Marlon's cowardice stops him from being present at Joey's murder, Harlan shoots Joey, only wounding him behind the ear. Eventually a convict at the local commissary reveals their plan and when the police arrive, they find the wounded Joey in some pain. Joey is taken to the hospital, and Rosalie, her mother, Devo, and the James cousins are arrested. Recognizing the errors in his ways and at his mother's behest, Joey refuses to press charges and bails everyone out of jail. As he waits for Rosalie with flowers and a box of chocolates, he meets the Jameses, with whom he makes peace. After meeting Rosalie again, he asks her to take him back, but still offended, she runs out. Joey manages to catch her and in the janitors' closet they reveal their love with some intimacy, much to Devo's dismay and the surprise of Rosalie's mother. Cast *Kevin Kline as Joey Boca *Tracey Ullman as Rosalie Boca *Joan Plowright as Nadja *River Phoenix as Devo Nod *William Hurt as Harlan James *Keanu Reeves as Marlon James *James Gammon as Lieutenant Larry Schooner *Jack Kehler as Sergeant Carlos Wiley *Victoria Jackson as Lacey *Miriam Margolyes as Joey's mother *Alisan Porter as Carla Boca *Jon Kasdan as Dominic Boca *Heather Graham as Bridget *Phoebe Cates (uncredited) as Joey's disco girl Production The filming dates for "I Love You to Death" took place from April 10th to July 20, 1989. The majority of the filming took place in Tacoma, Washington. Kevin Kline requested that his wife, actress Phoebe Cates have a small role in the film and she appeared in the scene at the bar\disco as the girl Joey picks up from the bar. Reception Box Office "I Love You to Death" opened at #6 at the box office, grossing $4,014,640 during its opening weekend, ranking behind The Hunt for Red October. It grossed over $16 million in the United States. Critical Reception "I Love You to Death" received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 56% based on reviews from 18 critics. On Metacritic, the film holds a 45 out of 100 rating based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Roger Ebert describes the film as "an actor's dream" but isn't quite so sure it is a dream film for an audience. He praised Ullman for her performance, noting it is all the more effective against the overtly comic performance of Kline. Ebert suggests Kasdan was attracted to the script because it seems almost impossible to direct, and although he is not sure it succeeds, it is certainly not boring. Hal Hinson from the Washington Post described the film as a "lazybones of a comedy". Theatrical Trailer Category:1990s films Category:American black comedy films Category:1990 films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:TriStar Pictures films Category:American films Category:Rated R